ENGINEERING MECHANICS

A force while acting on a body may

Force

It may be defined as an agent which produces or tends to produce, destroy or tends to destroy the motion of
a body. A force while acting on a body may

a) change the motion of a body,

b) retard the motion of body,

c) balance the forces already acting on a body, and

d) give rise to the internal stresses in a body

In order to determine the effects of a force acting on a body, we must know the following characteristics of
force

i) The magnitude of the force,

ii) The line of action of the force,

iii) The nature of the force, i.e. push or pull, and

iv) The point at which the force is acting

The resultant of two forces P and Q (such that P > Q) acting along the same straight line,
but in opposite direction, is given by
P–Q

Resultant Force R is given by:

P and Q are acting on same line but in opposite direction

so θ = 180°

The forces, which meet at one point and their lines of action also lie on the same plane,
are known as coplanar concurrent forces.
When two or more forces act on a body, they are called to form a system of forces.

Coplanar forces: The forces, whose lines of action lie on the same plane, are known as coplanar
forces.

Collinear forces: The forces, whose lines of action lie on the same line, are known as collinear
forces.

Concurrent forces: The forces, which meet at one point, are known as concurrent forces. The
concurrent forces may or may not be collinear.

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ENGINEERING MECHANICS

Coplanar concurrent forces: The forces, which meet at one point and their lines of action also
lie on the same plane, are known as coplanar concurrent forces.

Coplanar non-concurrent forces: The forces, which do not meet at one point, but their lines of
action lie on the same plane, are known as coplanar non-concurrent forces.

Non-coplanar concurrent forces: The forces, which meet at one point, but their lines of action do
not lie on the same plane, are known as non-coplanar concurrent forces.

Non-coplanar non-concurrent forces: The forces, which do not meet at one point and their lines
of action do not lie on the same plane, are called non-coplanar non-concurrent forces.

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ENGINEERING MECHANICS

According to Lami’s theorem

if three forces acting at a point are in equilibrium, then each force is proportional to the
sine of the angle between the other two
LAMI’S Theorem states, “If three coplanar forces acting at a point be in equilibrium, then each
force is proportional to the sine of the angle between the other two.” Mathematically,

The moment of the force P about O as shown in figure is

Moment of a Force

Moment of a force about a point is the measure of rotational effect of the force. Moment of a
force about a point is defined as the product of the magnitude of the force and the
perpendicular distance of the point from the line of action of the force. The point about
which the moment is considered is called moment centre and the perpendicular distance of the
point from the line of action of the force is called moment arm.

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ENGINEERING MECHANICS

Here d1 is the perpendicular distance of point 1 from the line of action of force F, the moment of
F about point 1 is given by

M1 = Fd1

Similarly, M2 = Fd2

Moment of the force P about O = P × OC = AB × OC

Two like parallel forces are acting at a distance of 24 mm apart and their
resultant is 20 N. If the line of action of the resultant is 6 mm from any
given force, the two forces are
As these are like parallel forces so F1 + F2 = 20 N

Taking moment about point of action of Resultant force R:

F1 × 18 = F2 × 6

F2 = 3F1

F1 + F2 = 20

4F1 = 20 ⇒ F1 = 5 N ⇒ F2 = 15 N

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ENGINEERING MECHANICS

A smooth cylinder lying on a convex surface remains in unstable

equilibrium.
A body is said to be in equilibrium when it comes back to its original position after it is slightly
displaced from its position of rest. In general, the following are the three types of equilibrium :

Stable equilibrium:

 A body is said to be in stable equilibrium if it returns back to its original position after it is
slightly displaced from its position of rest
 This happens when some additional force sets up due to displacement and brings the
body back to its original position
 A smooth cylinder, lying in a curved surface, is in stable equilibrium

Unstable equilibrium

 A body is said to be in an unstable equilibrium if it does not return back to its original
position, and heels farther away after slightly displaced from its position of rest
 This happens when the additional force moves the body away from its position of rest
 A smooth cylinder lying on a convex surface

Neutral equilibrium

 A body is said to be in a neutral equilibrium, if it occupies a new position (and remains at

rest in this position) after slightly displaced from its position of rest
 This happens when no additional force sets up due to the displacement
 A smooth cylinder lying on a horizontal plane is in neutral equilibrium

A pair of two equal and unlike parallel forces (i.e. forces equal in magnitude, with lines of action
parallel to each other and acting in opposite directions) is known as a couple.

As a matter of fact, a couple is unable to produce any translatory motion (i.e., motion in a straight
line). But it produces a motion of rotation in the body, on which it acts.

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ENGINEERING MECHANICS

Moment of a couple = P × a

Characteristics of a couple

A couple (whether clockwise or anticlockwise) has the following characteristics:

1. The algebraic sum of the forces, constituting the couple, is zero.

2. The algebraic sum of the moments of the forces, constituting the couple, about any point is
the same, and equal to the moment of the couple itself.

3. A couple cannot be balanced by a single force. But it can be balanced only by a couple of
opposite sense.

4. Any no. of co-planer couples can be reduced to a single couple, whose magnitude will be equal
to the algebraic sum of the moments of all the couples.

If a rigid body is in equilibrium under the action of three forces, then the
lines of action of these forces meet in a point, the lines of action of these forces
are coplanar
Principles of equilibrium

1. Two force principle: If only two forces act on a body that is in equilibrium, then they must be
equal in magnitude, co-linear and opposite in sense.

2. Three force principle: If a body in equilibrium is acted upon by three forces, then
the resultant of any two forces must be equal, opposite and collinear with the third force. If
a three-force member is in equilibrium and the forces are not parallel, they must be
concurrent. Therefore, the lines of action of all three forces acting on such a member must
intersect at a common point; any single force is, therefore, the equilibrant of the other two forces.

If it does not pass through a common point, it will produce a couple.

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ENGINEERING MECHANICS

A solid body applied to three forces whose lines of action are not parallel, is in equilibrium if
the three following conditions satisfies:

(i). The lines of action are coplanar (in the same plane).

(ii). The lines of action are meeting at a point.

(iii). The vector sum of these forces is equal to the zero vector.

3. Four force principle: If a body in equilibrium is acted upon by four forces, then the resultant of
any two forces must be equal, opposite and collinear with the resultant of the other two forces.

The force induced in the string BC due to the load W as shown in figure is

FAB sin θ = W

FAB = W cosec θ

FBC = FAB cos θ = W cosec θ × cos θ

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ENGINEERING MECHANICS

A system of forces is acting at the corners of a rectangular block as shown in

figure. Determine the magnitude of the resultant force.

Given: System of forces

Magnitude of the resultant force Resolving forces

horizontally,

ΣH = 25 - 20 = 5 kN and now resolving the forces

vertically ΣV = (-50) + (-35) = -85 kN

∴ Magnitude of the resultant force

Two like parallel forces P and Q (P > Q) act on a rigid body. If the force P is
displaced parallel to itself through a distance d, then the resultant of the
forces P and Q would be shifted by a distance
When P is shifted by d, let R is shifted
by a.
P+Q=R
Pd1 = Qd2
P (d1 – d + a) = Q (d2 – a)
Pd1 – Pd + Pa = Qd2 – Qa
Pd – Pa = Q a
Pd = (Q + P) a

A weight W hangs by a string. It is pushed aside by a horizontal force until

the string makes an angle of 30° with the vertical. The
tension in the string is
T cos 30° = W

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ENGINEERING MECHANICS

The angle between two forces when the resultant is maximum and
minimum respectively are 0° and 180°
Resultant force is a single force which produces the same effect as produced by all
the given forces acting on a body.

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ENGINEERING MECHANICS

The resultant of the forces P and Q is R. If Q is doubled then R gets

doubled in magnitude. R is again doubled if Q is reversed. Then P2, Q2 and
R2 are in the ratio 2 : 3 : 2

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